What was absolutely, undisputedly better in The Old Days?

[Pickles89]

Back when you were young, or even before that?

I'm going to kick off with Beany Babies. The realistic style 90's ones were so much nicer than the massive eyed/sparkly/rainbow coloured monstrosities of today.

Your turn!

@DukeofEarlGrey

Famous people. They had to have actually done something of note. For the most part, at least.

That awful word 'celebrity' which the media use to cover everyone from minor reality TV people to people who are actually talented and brilliant at what they do. Mary Beard is not a celebrity FFS.

@Shedmistress That's brilliant!! I just don't understand why we can't follow suit in the UK! What's the point in point in reducing plastic packaging here and avoiding glitter there to 'Save The Planet' if we're using palm oil for absolutely fucking everything?!!

That's another Better Thing, Nutella being in glass jars! We still use the old ones as drinking glasses here.

Yet another: Fairy liquid! Remember those lovely big old white bottles? WTF is up with the 'New Improved Scent' they've got going on? How can they have the nerve to label it as 'Original' when it's clearly not?!

@EnidFrighten

Delayed gratification. There was much more to wait for. Phone calls, meet ups, favourite TV shows etc. Everything is on demand now, which means you lose those delicious moments of anticipation.

Photos too. The anticipation of waiting for your photos to come back from the developers even if half of them were crap when you got them. I always felt my holidays weren’t really over until I’d seen the photos.

Some really good points, but I do think a lot of this thread is just the fact that it's more fun to be a child with no big responsibilities, plenty of time to play and not jaded by the world yet. For those who had a generally nice childhood, that is.

Tinsel! In my day the strands were finer and soft to stroke. Now they thick and coarse and ugly.

Yes! Can I add the controversial matter of fairy lights to this? I mean, they were in some ways also worse because, one goes, all go, but firstly, the amazing kind of diffusing effect on domestic tree lights (Pifco London Lights are the pinnacle of this), and secondly, they didn't rely so heavily on clinical bright white LEDs.

Yes I was so disappointed in modern tinsel.

October. Suddenly the grocers smelled of pears and apples. Fabulous smell that meant Hallowe'en was on the way.
I miss having distinct seasons.

I’m sure someone has already mentioned Barbies. I never had a Barbie (hated dolls) but dd liked them and I bought a big ebay batch. My word - the quality of those 70s/80s clothes - they all had little buttons and zips and the shoes and boots were all made like proper shoes. Barbies now have the shoes just painted on the foot, and one even had he handbag moulded onto the hand. Rubbish.

Fizzy pop

Chocolate
Turkey drummers
Lots more outdoor spaces
Manners

Politicians

@Ormally Yep, it’s hard to find warm white fairy lights that don’t show up as green-yellow on camera (compared to our ancient set that are true warm golden even to the naked eye).

When school dinner was served on actual plates instead of prison trays, the children drank form glasses and they all knew how to use cutlery.

Less plastic packaging and tat
Music, when people actually played instruments, and in many cases, were virtuosos. Voices that were not electronically assisted.
High Streets that were varied and vibrant, with independent shops, as well as chains. And didn't look like a carbon copy of each other in every town.
Apprenticeships and trades
Debating sessions in schools, so that people learn to listen, construct reasoned argument and respect different views, not get emotional and offended.
Marriage certificates, beautifully hand written in ink, not something dull out of a printer.
Pubs, we're losing them at a huge rate.
Youth clubs, ditto.
Biodiversity in the countryside.

Youth culture, music, affordable houses at 3 times 1 salary.

Crisp packets. You used to be able to put them in the oven to make a keyring. Not so sure now.

Just adding another - domestic appliances that lasted years, and even then you could get them fixed

Politicians that actually did good

Someone in here mentioned only having only 3 channels on the tv. I'm so old I can remember having only BBC1.

@LowlandLucky not sure that cutlery is a recent issue. In WW2 people were horrified that they had to teach some evacuees how to use cutlery and toothbrushes and soap

Here follows a rant on Fruit.
It was more flavoursome and sun ripened sweet in the past, even in the supermarkets. It may not have been available all year, and pricier, but the taste was fantastic. And the cost was sometimes justifiable due to the fact it was in season, so was a treat.

Supermarkets (customers?) want all year round availability, of quick grown prolific varieties that can be picked green or hard, 'ripened' after picking and sold cheaply.

Strawberries (out of season), tomatoes, plums, peaches, nectarines are barely recognisable. Watery and flavourless, hard and insipid.

And the flipping supermarkets trying to palm off the Tsar variety of plums as eaters when they're a hard cooker/keeper. Grr.

@DinosApple

Here follows a rant on Fruit. It was more flavoursome and sun ripened sweet in the past, even in the supermarkets. It may not have been available all year, and pricier, but the taste was fantastic. And the cost was sometimes justifiable due to the fact it was in season, so was a treat.

Supermarkets (customers?) want all year round availability, of quick grown prolific varieties that can be picked green or hard, 'ripened' after picking and sold cheaply.

Strawberries (out of season), tomatoes, plums, peaches, nectarines are barely recognisable. Watery and flavourless, hard and insipid.

And the flipping supermarkets trying to palm off the Tsar variety of plums as eaters when they're a hard cooker/keeper. Grr.

Agree.

Bananas had a diferent taste in the past.

Fairy lights. Proper, non-LED ones. Extra points for being colours with lanterns or carriages. Also, non-LED lightbulbs.

Haberdashery shops.

Also, "tech" that was simple and easy to use, like cassette players, records/record players and even video recorders. Music was so easily accessed, not just for the digitally savvy.